Mitsuo Fuchida

Mitsuo Fuchida (3 December 1902-30 May 1976) was a Captain of the Imperial Japanese Navy's IJN 1st Air Fleet. He was responsible for the coordination of the Attack on Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, and he would ironically permanently settle in the United States as an Evangelical Christian after World War II.

Biography
Mitsuo Fuchida was born on 3 December 1902 in Nara Prefecture, Japan, and he attended the Imperial Japanese Navy Academy from 1921 to 1924, befriending future comrade Minoru Genda. On 1 December 1927, he became a sub-lieutenant, and he became a horizontal bombing instructor in 1936. In 1939, he joined the aircraft carrier Akagi as the commander of th IJN 1st Air Fleet, and he led the 423 aircraft that attacked the United States naval base Pearl Harbor on 7 December 1941, having coordinated the strikes. Fuchida returned to the carrier only after the second wave was completed, and he became a national hero, being granted an audience with Emperor Hirohito. On 19 February 1942, he led 188 aircraft in a bombing raid on Darwin, Australia, and on 5 April 1942 he led attacks on British Royal Navy bases on Sri Lanka (then known as Ceylon). On 4 June 1942, he broke both of his ankles during the bombing of Akagi by the US Navy aircraft during the Battle of Midway, and he became a staff officer back at home.

In the fall of 1948, following the war's end, he converted to Christianity after abandoning the bushido code, as he wondered how people could forgive other people rather than seek vengeance as bushido would have them do. He had permanent residence in the United State while working as an Evangelical missionary, but he died back home in Kashiwara (near Osaka) in 1976.